JP3723478B2 - Concentrated oxygen supply device - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a concentrated oxygen supply apparatus that generates oxygen-enriched air by adsorbing nitrogen in air with an adsorbent.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In recent years, adsorbents such as zeolite are sealed in an adsorption tower, and nitrogen is adsorbed by the adsorbent through the air, thereby increasing the oxygen concentration in the air and generating oxygen-enriched air to generate oxygen such as cannula. A concentrated oxygen supply device that supplies an inhalation device is known.
[0003]
Such an adsorbent adsorbs nitrogen by a pressure swing adsorption method (PSA method) that selectively captures nitrogen gas molecules in the air. In this pressure swing adsorption method, air is pumped into the adsorbent and is in the air. After adsorbing nitrogen and adsorbing nitrogen for a certain period, the adsorbed nitrogen is separated and released from the adsorbent, and oxygen-enriched air is generated while repeating these adsorption and separation.
[0004]
A piping path is formed in the concentrated oxygen supply apparatus, and the piping path includes at least two adsorption towers connected in parallel and an air compressor having a constant capacity for pumping air to the adsorption towers. The adsorption process for adsorbing and the separation process for separating and releasing saturated nitrogen are alternately performed.
[0005]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
By the way, the concentrated oxygen supply device is provided with a flow rate setting device in a piping path on the downstream side of the adsorption tower, and sets the discharge amount of oxygen-enriched air discharged from the oxygen suction device. And while this device is in operation, the air compressor is always in operation, so even if the setting amount of the flow rate setting device is set low, the same amount of power is consumed as when the setting amount is set to the maximum. A certain amount of power was consumed regardless of the setting amount of the setting device. For this reason, it has been desired to control such that the power consumption is commensurate with the set amount of the flow rate setting device (the power consumption amount is reduced when the set amount is small).
[0006]
The present invention has been made to solve the conventional problems, and an adsorption tower in which an adsorbent capable of adsorbing and separating nitrogen in air is enclosed, and an air compressor for pumping air to the adsorption tower And a flow rate setting device for setting the discharge amount of oxygen-enriched air to the downstream side of the adsorption tower, and the operation is performed with power consumption corresponding to the set amount of oxygen-enriched air set by the flow rate setting device. An object is to provide an oxygen supply device.
[0007]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the object, the invention described in claim 1 includes a plurality of adsorption tower groups in which a plurality of adsorption towers filled with an adsorbent capable of adsorbing and separating nitrogen in air are connected in parallel, and A flow path control means for connecting the adsorption tower groups in parallel and switching one adsorption tower group as an adsorption stroke and the other adsorption tower group as a separation stroke; an air compressor for pumping air to these adsorption tower groups; In a concentrated oxygen supply apparatus comprising a flow rate setting device for setting the discharge amount of oxygen-enriched air generated in the adsorption tower group, the number of adsorption towers to be operated is determined according to the set amount of the flow rate setting device In addition, the capacity of the air compressor is controlled.
[0008]
According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the concentrated oxygen supply device according to the first aspect, an electromagnetic valve for controlling the flow of air to each adsorption tower of the adsorption tower group is provided, and the operation is performed by opening and closing the electromagnetic valve. It is characterized by determining the adsorption tower to be used.
[0009]
The invention according to claim 3 is the concentrated oxygen supply apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the solenoid valve according to claim 2 is provided at an inlet and an outlet of each adsorption tower, respectively. .
[0010]
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the concentrated oxygen supply device according to any one of the first to third aspects, the capacity of the air compressor is controlled by an inverter device.
[0011]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a side sectional view of a concentrated oxygen supply apparatus according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a piping path diagram of an oxygen-enriched air generation unit of the concentrated oxygen supply apparatus, and FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of the concentrated oxygen supply apparatus. is there.
[0012]
The concentrated oxygen supply device 1 of the present invention is installed in a room of a general household, for example, and is configured by incorporating each device in a main body case 2 having a size that can be easily carried. A slit-like air inlet 3 is formed on the front surface of the main body case 2, an air filter 4 is attached to the inside of the air inlet 3, and a blower 7 is attached to the inside of the air filter 4. ing.
[0013]
The blower 7 sucks air from the air suction port 3 and removes dust, smoke particles, and the like by the air filter 4, and then passes through the main body case 2 and from an air discharge port 8 formed on the lower surface of the main body case 2. The air is discharged.
[0014]
In addition, an electrical box 9 is disposed in the upper part of the main body case 2 and includes a control device 61 that controls various electrical devices and electrical components and an inverter device 63 that drives the air compressor 13. An oxygen-enriched air generating unit (hereinafter simply referred to as a generating unit) 12 is built in the main body case 2, and a piping path is formed in the generating unit 12. The piping path includes an air compressor 13, a suction tank 14, a cooling coil 16, a five-way valve 17, adsorption tower groups 70 and 80, buffer tanks 23 and 24, check valves 26, 27 and 28, a silencer 31, 32, a flow rate setting device 48, an oxygen-enriched air discharge section (hereinafter simply referred to as a discharge section) 34, and the like.
[0015]
The suction tank 14 is connected to the suction side of the air compressor 13, and the silencer 31 is connected to the inlet of the suction tank 14, and these devices are arranged inside and downstream of the air filter 4. The The cooling coil 16 is connected to the discharge side of the air compressor 13, and the outlet of the cooling coil 16 is connected to the first port 17 </ b> A of the five-way valve 17.
[0016]
The second port 17B of the five-way valve 17 is connected to the inlet at the lower end of the adsorption tower group 70 by a pipe 36, and the third port 17C is connected to the inlet at the lower end of the adsorption tower group 70 by a pipe 37. The The fourth port 17D and the fifth port 17E of the five-way valve 17 are both connected to a pipe 39 by a three-way pipe 38. The pipe 39 is connected to the silencer 32 through the buffer tank 24 and the check valve 28 in this order.
[0017]
The five-way valve 17 is driven by an electromagnetic coil, and in the ON state, as shown by the solid line in FIG. 2, the first port 17A communicates with the second port 17B, and the fifth port 17E connects to the third port 17C. Communicate. In the OFF state, the flow path is switched so that the first port 17A communicates with the third port 17C and the second port 17B communicates with the fourth port 17D as indicated by a broken line in FIG.
[0018]
The three-way pipe 38, the pipe 39, the buffer tank 24, the check valve 28, and the silencer 32 constitute an exhaust path together with the downstream pipes 37 and 36 of the adsorption tower groups 80 and 70 during the separation stroke. The check valve 28 has the silencer 32 direction as a forward direction.
[0019]
The pipe 43 is connected to the pipe 44 through the dust / bacteria filter 58 and the check valve 26, and the pipe 41 is connected to the pipe 44 through the dust / bacteria filter 59 and the check valve 27. The check valves 26 and 27 have the direction of the pipe 44 as the forward direction, and the pipes 41 and 43 are arranged in front of the filters 58 and 59, that is, upstream of the check valves 26 and 27, respectively. The communication pipes 46 communicate with each other. An electromagnetic valve 45 is interposed in the bypass pipe 42, and the bypass pipe 42 is opened and closed by opening and closing the electromagnetic valve 45. When the bypass pipe 42 is open, most of the air that travels in the pipe 41 or 43 toward the pipe 44 flows through the bypass pipe 42. An orifice 47 is interposed in the communication pipe 46, and 1/5 of the air flowing in the direction of the pipe 44 in the pipe 41 or 43 is diverted to the communication pipe 46 due to the resistance of the orifice 47.
[0020]
The pipe 44 is connected to the inlet of the buffer tank 23, and the outlet of the buffer tank 23 is connected to the flow rate setting device 48 and further connected to the discharge unit 34. The flow rate setting device 48 adjusts the amount of oxygen-enriched air flowing to the downstream side of the flow rate setting device 48 to adjust the amount of oxygen-enriched air discharged from the discharge unit 34, for example, 0.25, 0.5, 1, 2 It can be set to 3 liters / minute. A flexible tube 49 is detachably connected to the discharge portion 34, and a cannula 34 a is attached to the tip of the tube 49. The tube 49 and the cannula 34a are stored in a storage portion 51 on the upper surface of the main body case 2 so as to be freely retractable.
[0021]
Here, the adsorption tower group 70 has adsorption towers 71, 72, 73, and these adsorption towers 71, 72, 73 are connected in parallel. Electromagnetic valves 76a, 77a, 78a are provided on the lower inlet side of each adsorption tower 71, 72, 73, and electromagnetic valves 76b, 77b, 78b are provided on the upper outlet side. Similarly, the adsorption tower group 80 has adsorption towers 81, 82, and 83, and these adsorption towers 81, 82, and 83 are connected in parallel. Electromagnetic valves 86a, 87a, 88a are provided on the lower inlet side of each adsorption tower 81, 82, 83, and electromagnetic valves 86b, 87b, 88b are provided on the upper outlet side.
[0022]
Each of the adsorption towers 71, 72, 73, 81, 82, 83 is formed in a vertically long cylindrical shape with a hollow inside by a metal or a hard rigid resin, and an adsorbent 54 is sealed inside thereof.
[0023]
The adsorbent 54 is, for example, zeolite having a diameter of 2 mm to 3 mm. From the inlet of the adsorption towers 71, 72, 73 of the adsorption tower group 70, or the inlet of the adsorption towers 81, 82, 83 of the adsorption tower group 80. When indoor air is pumped, the zeolite selectively adsorbs nitrogen molecules in the indoor air. Hereinafter, this is referred to as an adsorption process. As a result, oxygen-enriched air having an oxygen concentration of 90% or more comes out from the outlets of the adsorption towers 71, 72, 73 of the adsorption tower group 70 or the outlets of the adsorption towers 81, 82, 83 of the adsorption tower group 80. It is a thing.
[0024]
Further, when the oxygen-enriched air is caused to flow into the inside from the outlets of the adsorption towers 71, 72, 73 or 81, 82, 83, the internal oxygen partial pressure rapidly increases. In this state, the adsorbent 54 separates and releases the nitrogen molecules adsorbed in the adsorption process. Hereinafter, this is referred to as a separation process. As a result, nitrogen-enriched air flows out from the inlets of the adsorption towers 71, 72, 73 of the adsorption tower group 70 or the inlets of the adsorption towers 81, 82, 83 of the adsorption tower group 80. .
[0025]
Next, in FIG. 3, 61 is a control device, and this control device 61 is housed in the electrical box 9 and includes a general-purpose microcomputer 62 and an inverter device 63 for controlling the motor 13M of the air compressor 13. Yes. An operation switch 57 and a flow rate setting device 48 are connected to the input side of the microcomputer 62. On the output side, the inverter device 63, the motor 7M of the blower 7, the five-way valve 17, the electromagnetic valves 76a, 76b, 77a, 77b, 78a, 78b, 86a, 86b, 87a, 87b, 88a, 88b and the bypass pipe 42 are provided. The solenoid valves 45 are connected to each other.
[0026]
Operation | movement of the production | generation part of the concentrated oxygen supply apparatus comprised as mentioned above is demonstrated.
[0027]
When the set amount of the flow rate setting device 48 is set and the operation switch 57 is operated, the concentrated oxygen supply device 1 starts operation. The control device 61 drives the motor 7M of the blower 7 and turns on the five-way valve 17. Then, the number of adsorption towers to be operated is determined according to the set amount of the flow rate setting device 48, and the adsorption towers are selected. The same number of adsorption towers to be operated is selected from each of the adsorption tower groups 70 and 80. Then, the solenoid valves provided on the inlet and outlet sides of the adsorption tower to be operated are opened, and the inlet and outlet solenoid valves of the adsorption tower not to be operated are closed. In the adsorption tower that is not operated, the solenoid valve is closed on both the inlet side and the outlet side so that air and moisture do not enter the adsorption tower from the inlet and outlet.
[0028]
Next, the control device 61 determines the capacity of the air compressor 13 according to the set amount of the flow rate setting device 48, determines the frequency of the inverter device 63, and drives the motor 13M. For example, when the set amount of the flow rate setting device 48 is set to 0.25 to 1 liter / min, the control device 61 sets the number of adsorption towers to operate the adsorption tower groups 70 and 80 to one each. Adsorption tower 71 and adsorption tower 81 are selected from adsorption tower groups 70 and 80, respectively (if the set amount is 2 liters / minute, each two adsorption towers are selected, and if the set amount is 3 liters / minute, each is selected. Select three adsorption towers). The electromagnetic valves 76a, 76b, 86a, and 86b are opened, and the electromagnetic valves 77a, 77b, 78a, 78b, 87a, 87b, 88a, and 88b are closed. The control device 61 sets the frequency of the inverter device 63 low and drives the motor 13M.
[0029]
When the air compressor 13 is operated, the room air that has passed through the air filter 4 is sucked into the air compressor 13 from the silencer 31 through the suction tank 14. The sucked room air is discharged from the air compressor 13 to the cooling coil 16. The air compressor 13 and the cooling coil 16 are blown from the blower 7, and the indoor air flowing into the cooling coil 16 is cooled in the process of passing therethrough, and then the first port 17 </ b> A of the five-way valve 17. to go into.
[0030]
The room air that has entered the first port 17A of the five-way valve 17 flows out of the second port 17B and flows into the pipe 36. Further, the gas is fed into the adsorption tower 71 from the inlet of the adsorption tower 71 of the adsorption tower group 70 through the pipe 36 and the electromagnetic valve 76a. The room air that has entered the adsorption tower 71 is adsorbed with nitrogen by the adsorbent 54 and becomes oxygen-enriched air and flows out from the outlet at the upper end (adsorption process).
[0031]
At this time, the oxygen-enriched air that has come out of the adsorption tower 71 is directed toward the check valve 26 and the communication pipe 46. As described above, 4/5 of the oxygen-enriched air is directed to the check valve 26 and 1/5 is connected to the communication pipe 46. (Since the solenoid valve 45 is closed, air does not flow through the bypass pipe 42). Oxygen-enriched air toward the check valve 26 is discharged from the cannula 34a through the pipe 44, the buffer tank 23, the flow rate setting device 48, and the tube 49. The patient can suck the oxygen-enriched air by applying the cannula 34a.
[0032]
On the other hand, 1/5 oxygen-enriched air that has flowed into the communication pipe 46 is throttled by the orifice 47, and then flows into the inside of the adsorption tower 81 of the adsorption tower group 80 through the pipe 41. When oxygen-enriched air flows into the adsorption tower 81, the internal oxygen partial pressure rises, so that the adsorbent 54 separates and releases the adsorbed nitrogen (separation process).
[0033]
Then, it flows out from the lower end inlet to the pipe 37, passes through the third port 17 </ b> C and the fifth port 17 </ b> E of the five-way valve 17, passes through the pipe 38, the pipe 39, the buffer tank 24, the check valve 28, and the silencer 32. Discharged.
[0034]
When a predetermined time has elapsed from the start of operation, the control device 61 energizes the electromagnetic valve 45 to open the bypass pipe 42 for several seconds and connect the pipes 41 and 43. As a result, the oxygen-enriched air generated in the adsorption tower 71 flows into the adsorption tower 81 and the internal oxygen partial pressure rises rapidly. In this state, when nitrogen molecules are adsorbed on the adsorbent 54 of the adsorption tower 81, the nitrogen molecules are separated and released.
[0035]
Thereafter, the control device 61 stops energization of the electromagnetic valve 45 and turns off the five-way valve 17. Since the first port 17A communicates with the third port 17C, the room air that has come out of the cooling coil 16 is pumped into the interior from the inlet at the lower end of the adsorption tower 81 via the pipe 37.
[0036]
Then, oxygen-enriched air is generated in the adsorption tower 81 (adsorption process), and flows out from the outlet at the upper end to the pipe 41 toward the check valve 27 and the communication pipe 46. 1/5 is diverted to the communication pipe 46 toward the check valve 27. The oxygen-enriched air toward the check valve 27 is discharged from the cannula 34a through the pipe 44, the buffer tank 23, the flow rate setting device 48, and the tube 49 as described above.
[0037]
The 1/5 oxygen-enriched air that has flowed into the communication pipe 46 is throttled by the orifice 47 and then flows into the interior of the adsorption tower 71 through the pipe 43. In the adsorption tower 71, separation and release of nitrogen molecules and the like adsorbed by the adsorbent 54 are performed (separation process).
[0038]
Then, it flows out from the inlet at the lower end to the pipe 36 and passes through the second port 17B and the fourth port 17D of the five-way valve 17 and, similarly to the above, the pipe 38, the pipe 39, the buffer tank 24, the check valve 28, the silencer. 32 will be discharged.
[0039]
Thereafter, the control device 61 switches the five-way valve 17 to ON again after a predetermined time. In this way, adsorption and separation are alternately and simultaneously performed in each of the adsorption tower groups 70 and 80 to generate continuous oxygen-enriched air.
[0040]
As described above, the concentrated oxygen supply apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment operates from among a plurality of adsorption towers 71, 72, 73, 81, 82, 83 according to the set amount of the flow rate setting device 48. Since the capacity of the air compressor 13 is controlled, an oxygen-enriched air amount corresponding to the set amount of oxygen-enriched air is generated, and when the set amount of the flow rate setting device 48 is small, the inverter device 63 The power consumption is reduced by lowering the frequency and lowering the capacity of the air compressor 13. Thereby, the power consumption of the air compressor 13 can be matched with the set amount of the flow rate setting device 48.
[0041]
Further, when the flow rate setting device 48 is used with a small set amount, the noise value (operating sound) can be reduced and the life of the air compressor 13 can be extended.
[0042]
Furthermore, in the adsorption tower having a low operation rate, the life of the adsorbent is prolonged, and the time for exchanging the adsorbent can be lengthened to reduce the labor of the exchange work.
[0043]
As mentioned above, although this invention was demonstrated based on one Embodiment, this invention is not limited to this.
[0044]
In this embodiment, there are two adsorption tower groups, and these adsorption tower groups are provided with three adsorption towers, but each adsorption tower group may be provided with two adsorption towers, or four or more adsorption towers. Alternatively, the number of adsorption towers and the size of the adsorption tower (amount of adsorbent) may be changed in accordance with the capacity of the concentrated oxygen supply device.
[0045]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, the concentrated oxygen supply apparatus of the present invention includes a plurality of adsorption tower groups in which a plurality of adsorption towers filled with an adsorbent are connected in parallel, and these adsorption tower groups are connected in parallel to perform an adsorption process and separation. Flow rate control means for switching the stroke, an air compressor for pumping air to the adsorption tower group, and a flow rate setting device for setting the discharge amount of the oxygen-enriched air generated in the adsorption tower group The number of adsorption towers to be operated is determined from a plurality of adsorption towers according to the set quantity of the vessel, and the air compressor capacity is controlled, so that an oxygen-enriched air quantity corresponding to the set quantity is generated and the air The power consumption of the compressor can be matched to the set amount and energy-saving operation can be performed.
[0046]
In addition, in the adsorption tower having a low operation rate, the life of the adsorbent is prolonged, and the time for exchanging the adsorbent can be lengthened to reduce the labor of the exchange work.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a side sectional view of a concentrated oxygen supply device according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a piping route diagram of the oxygen-enriched air generation unit of FIG.
FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of the concentrated oxygen supply device of FIG. 1;
[Explanation of symbols]
1 Concentrated oxygen supply device 13 Air compressor 17 Five-way valve (channel control means)
48 Flow rate setting device 54 Adsorbent 61 Control device 63 Inverter device 70, 80 Adsorption tower group 71, 72, 73, 81, 82, 83 Adsorption tower 76a, 76b, 77a, 77b, 78a, 78b Electromagnetic valves 86a, 86b, 87a , 87b, 88a, 88b Solenoid valve

Claims (4)

Multiple adsorption towers connected in parallel with multiple adsorption towers filled with an adsorbent capable of adsorbing and separating nitrogen in the air, and these adsorption towers are connected in parallel and one adsorption tower group is adsorbed And a flow path control means for switching the other adsorption tower group as a separation process, an air compressor for pumping air to these adsorption tower groups, and a discharge amount of oxygen-enriched air generated in the adsorption tower group In a concentrated oxygen supply device comprising a flow rate setting device,
A concentrated oxygen supply apparatus that determines the number of adsorption towers to be operated according to a set amount of the flow rate setting device and controls the capacity of the air compressor. 2. The concentrated oxygen supply device according to claim 1, wherein an electromagnetic valve for controlling an air flow to each adsorption tower of the adsorption tower group is provided, and an adsorption tower to be operated is determined by opening and closing the electromagnetic valve. 3. The concentrated oxygen supply device according to claim 2, wherein the electromagnetic valve according to claim 2 is provided at each of an inlet and an outlet of each adsorption tower. The concentrated oxygen supply device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the capacity of the air compressor is controlled by an inverter device.

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